Its not profits that 2K is concerned about. They KNOW XCOM can make money and will milk it for all its worth, its the ATTITUDE of how they go about future installments.

Games are not held to the highest bar, they are held to the LOWEST bar when they are made.

If Easy mode becomes easier, then the other modes fall suit.

Normal becomes easy.

Classic becomes normal.

Impossible becomes classic.

Ridiculous slippery slope fallacy is ridiculous. I mean, you might have a point if all game modes were becoming easier (hell, even if normal were becoming easier) and that a common criticism was that the game was too hard. Good thing neither of those things have happened then, eh?

They can't make all modes easier since the game was ABOUT being hard. That requires a whole new restructuring and more money that 2K is not willing to spend.

Its what 2K will think AFTER this. They will take this feedback and apply it to later games.

2K has gone downhill for the last 5 years. The worst was 2010-11 when they pushed out half assed sequels trying to capture the magical money fairy. 2012 is looking up, but 2013 is still up in the air.

This is the same publisher that thought Bioshock 2 was a good idea and wanted to make XCOM into Bioshock 2.5, I wouldn't put it past them.

i tried easy to see how easy it was. by the 3rd month you can have satelites over every single country and you can build the entire base to the bottom in 5-6 months. you actually have so much money you cant spend it :-|

probably would of been better to add the new easy mode in as a seperate difficulty level

Its not profits that 2K is concerned about. They KNOW XCOM can make money and will milk it for all its worth, its the ATTITUDE of how they go about future installments.

Games are not held to the highest bar, they are held to the LOWEST bar when they are made.

If Easy mode becomes easier, then the other modes fall suit.

Normal becomes easy.

Classic becomes normal.

Impossible becomes classic.

Ridiculous slippery slope fallacy is ridiculous. I mean, you might have a point if all game modes were becoming easier (hell, even if normal were becoming easier) and that a common criticism was that the game was too hard. Good thing neither of those things have happened then, eh?

They can't make all modes easier since the game was ABOUT being hard. That requires a whole new restructuring and more money that 2K is not willing to spend.

Its what 2K will think AFTER this. They will take this feedback and apply it to later games.

And what feedback did they get, exactly? A lot of people complaining that it was too hard, or a lot of people saying that they liked how hard it was? Because from what I have seen, it looks a hell of a lot more like the latter. Every single review I have seen compliments the difficulty and nearly every single comment about the game's difficulty I have seen has been positive. If there are a lot of people complaining that the game is too hard/too complex, I have managed to avoid them somehow.

This is the same publisher that thought Bioshock 2 was a good idea and wanted to make XCOM into Bioshock 2.5, I wouldn't put it past them.

And we saw how well both of those turned out for 2K, didn't we? Companies can learn from mistakes, you know.

Ridiculous slippery slope fallacy is ridiculous. I mean, you might have a point if all game modes were becoming easier (hell, even if normal were becoming easier) and that a common criticism was that the game was too hard. Good thing neither of those things have happened then, eh?

They can't make all modes easier since the game was ABOUT being hard. That requires a whole new restructuring and more money that 2K is not willing to spend.

Its what 2K will think AFTER this. They will take this feedback and apply it to later games.

And what feedback did they get, exactly? A lot of people complaining that it was too hard, or a lot of people saying that they liked how hard it was? Because from what I have seen, it looks a hell of a lot more like the latter. Every single review I have seen compliments the difficulty and nearly every single comment about the game's difficulty I have seen has been positive. If there are a lot of people complaining that the game is too hard/too complex, I have managed to avoid them somehow.

This is the same publisher that thought Bioshock 2 was a good idea and wanted to make XCOM into Bioshock 2.5, I wouldn't put it past them.

And we saw how well both of those turned out for 2K, didn't we? Companies can learn from mistakes, you know.

When they were talking about difficulty, they were expressly forbidden from making it Dark Souls hard, let alone original XCOM hard. The reason being is that Microsoft wanted an achievement for impossible mode, and they didn't like the idea of impossible following the same path as the original. Publishers normally frown on difficulty, especially when they try to market it so the gamers don't get upset or their egos bruised so they keep coming back.

The developer logs note there was a LOT of publisher politics that firaxis had to deal with, and had to compromise.

The only reason the new XCOM is "hard" is because every other game relies on easy difficulties. Even harder difficulties would be regarded as 2005 normal difficulty.

Now that people are complaining about thegame being hard, it just reinforces 2k's mentality that even remotely challenging games "scare" gamers away.

Its not profits that 2K is concerned about. They KNOW XCOM can make money and will milk it for all its worth, its the ATTITUDE of how they go about future installments.

Games are not held to the highest bar, they are held to the LOWEST bar when they are made.

If Easy mode becomes easier, then the other modes fall suit.

Normal becomes easy.

Classic becomes normal.

Impossible becomes classic.

Ridiculous slippery slope fallacy is ridiculous. I mean, you might have a point if all game modes were becoming easier (hell, even if normal were becoming easier) and that a common criticism was that the game was too hard. Good thing neither of those things have happened then, eh?

They can't make all modes easier since the game was ABOUT being hard. That requires a whole new restructuring and more money that 2K is not willing to spend.

Its what 2K will think AFTER this. They will take this feedback and apply it to later games.

2K has gone downhill for the last 5 years. The worst was 2010-11 when they pushed out half assed sequels trying to capture the magical money fairy. 2012 is looking up, but 2013 is still up in the air.

This is the same publisher that thought Bioshock 2 was a good idea and wanted to make XCOM into Bioshock 2.5, I wouldn't put it past them.

I agree, I think it's all too easy to see the execs taking "next time we'll make it easier" away from this.

Fact is they should have made an extra difficulty mode called 'very easy', rather than changing the existing mode.

Now that people are complaining about thegame being hard, it just reinforces 2k's mentality that even remotely challenging games "scare" gamers away.

WHAT PEOPLE!?!?! Every single damn review has praised the difficulty. Every single damn post I have seen on these (and other) forums about the game has praised the difficulty. The only changes being made to the game are being made to the easy mode, not normal (which would be just as easy to change as easy, so there must be a reason they are not changing that as well). You would think that just might be something that 2K freaking notices! God damn, I feel like I am repeating myself over and over here.

Now that people are complaining about thegame being hard, it just reinforces 2k's mentality that even remotely challenging games "scare" gamers away.

WHAT PEOPLE!?!?! Every single damn review has praised the difficulty. Every single damn post I have seen on these (and other) forums about the game has praised the difficulty. The only changes being made to the game are being made to the easy mode, not normal (which would be just as easy to change as easy, so there must be a reason they are not changing that as well). You would think that just might be something that 2K freaking notices! God damn, I feel like I am repeating myself over and over here.

They received feedback to make easy mode easier. Since people cannot beat easy mode (somehow) 2K is lowering the bar of entry. It must be a sizable chunk since 2K took the time out of their day to address this.

You are on a thread about these people right now. I thought that was obvious.

Now that people are complaining about thegame being hard, it just reinforces 2k's mentality that even remotely challenging games "scare" gamers away.

WHAT PEOPLE!?!?! Every single damn review has praised the difficulty. Every single damn post I have seen on these (and other) forums about the game has praised the difficulty. The only changes being made to the game are being made to the easy mode, not normal (which would be just as easy to change as easy, so there must be a reason they are not changing that as well). You would think that just might be something that 2K freaking notices! God damn, I feel like I am repeating myself over and over here.

They received feedback to make easy mode easier.

Notice how the feedback was not to make normal or classic or impossible mode easier, just easy mode. That should tell you a lot. Devs typically are not in the business of removing things that many people say they like.

It must be a sizable chunk since 2K took the time out of their day to address this.

WHAT PEOPLE!?!?! Every single damn review has praised the difficulty. Every single damn post I have seen on these (and other) forums about the game has praised the difficulty. The only changes being made to the game are being made to the easy mode, not normal (which would be just as easy to change as easy, so there must be a reason they are not changing that as well). You would think that just might be something that 2K freaking notices! God damn, I feel like I am repeating myself over and over here.

They received feedback to make easy mode easier.

Notice how the feedback was not to make normal or class or impossible mode easier, just easy mode. That should tell you a lot.

It must be a sizable chunk since 2K took the time out of their day to address this.

A sizable chunk out of a single day for one guy, maybe.

Easy mode is the barrier of entry for a game.

They wont touch much of the original game since that takes money out of 2K's pocket.

They WILL most likely apply this incident to future games, since they will keep this barrier of entry thing in mind.

They wont touch much of the original game since that takes money out of 2K's pocket.

They WILL most likely apply this incident to future games, since they will keep this barrier of entry thing in mind.

I have said this 3 times now.

So what, they will make easy difficulty easier in future games? Oh, the horror, whatever shall we do.

The easy difficulty is a barrier of entry. They cannot make normal much harder, since difficulty is a scale.

A lower barrier of entry means everything will be designed for a low entry point. They will be pulling their heavier punches.

Why? Why would they possibly want to make the game easier when nearly all of the feedback has complimented them on how hard the game is? It makes no sense, from a business standpoint or a design standpoint. That is why this is a slippery slope fallacy: you are assuming that one necessarily follows the other, when that is not the case. Yes, they will keep the lower barrier of entry in mind for future titles, but do you know what else they will keep in mind? How much so many liked how difficult the game was. Games are not designed for the lowest possible entry point. They are designed for the largest base. And the largest base is the one that likes the difficulty.

It's not like they're altering classic or impossible, so those of us who cut our teeth on UFO defence years ago can still scream at the monitor if we want.

On the other hand, it lowers the barrier to entry fro strategy newbies (I can imagine there's a fair few on consoles). That way the neophytes can build up to the harder modes if they want, and the grognards are unaffected.

I'm currently playing through XCOM on normal, and having an enjoyable, if slightly difficult, time. It's not a style of game I'm used to, so there are moments when I make mistakes that I'm sure a lot of people would classify as 'rookie mistakes,' but I'm still enjoying it.

That said, I do understand why some people would play on Easy mode. And, not to be 'that guy' or anything, but aren't a few of you sort of missing the point? Like, saying they should have just added a 'n00b' difficulty, or saying that some people 'are actually playing XCOM like it's The Sims 3: Aliens and Guns Edition' is being really harsh. Maybe some people would like to experience the game once without being crushed by the challenge. I know that once I got the hang of Normal mode, I abandoned a game to jump to Classic mode, and promptly got my ass kicked, so I reloaded my Normal game to get an even better fix on the game. I'm sure there are people that would just like to try the game without worrying overmuch about being kicked in the teeth by it, and I'm sure a lot of those people, after beating it on Easy, will try it again on a harder difficulty.

Calling people out for wanting it a little bit easier just seems a bit immature, in my opinion. It's not like there's anything in the game forcing you to play it that way. It's just an option in the game that you could totally ignore if you wanted, like changing the language setting, or choosing whether or not to have subtitles on: it might add something to someone else's experience, but having it there isn't taking away from yours.

SonOfMethuselah:I'm currently playing through XCOM on normal, and having an enjoyable, if slightly difficult, time. It's not a style of game I'm used to, so there are moments when I make mistakes that I'm sure a lot of people would classify as 'rookie mistakes,' but I'm still enjoying it.

That said, I do understand why some people would play on Easy mode. And, not to be 'that guy' or anything, but aren't a few of you sort of missing the point? Like, saying they should have just added a 'n00b' difficulty, or saying that some people 'are actually playing XCOM like it's The Sims 3: Aliens and Guns Edition' is being really harsh. Maybe some people would like to experience the game once without being crushed by the challenge. I know that once I got the hang of Normal mode, I abandoned a game to jump to Classic mode, and promptly got my ass kicked, so I reloaded my Normal game to get an even better fix on the game. I'm sure there are people that would just like to try the game without worrying overmuch about being kicked in the teeth by it, and I'm sure a lot of those people, after beating it on Easy, will try it again on a harder difficulty.

Calling people out for wanting it a little bit easier just seems a bit immature, in my opinion. It's not like there's anything in the game forcing you to play it that way. It's just an option in the game that you could totally ignore if you wanted, like changing the language setting, or choosing whether or not to have subtitles on: it might add something to someone else's experience, but having it there isn't taking away from yours.

The problem there is that people who are comfortable with the present easy mode will now be orphaned. They can either hike up the difficulty or play something too easy for them. And while I've no direct evidence of this, I'd be willing to bet that that group is substantially larger than the group of people that find easy too hard.

So yeah, just making a new difficulty mode might've been the best idea...

The problem there is that people who are comfortable with the present easy mode will now be orphaned. They can either hike up the difficulty or play something too easy for them. And while I've no direct evidence of this, I'd be willing to bet that that group is substantially larger than the group of people that find easy too hard.

So yeah, just making a new difficulty mode might've been the best idea...

I could agree with that, but the thing is, I'm not seeing anyone saying that they're comfortable with easy and don't want it changed. I didn't read every comment, but the ones I did read are just complaining that there's an easy mode in the first place, which is the wrong attitude to take, I think.

BreakfastMan:We are talking about making easy mode easier, not the entire game easier (unless, for some reason, you count fixing bugs as making the game easier). There is a mighty big difference.

He is mentioning the possibility of the entire game being dumbed down if the publisher perceives the gamer population to be comprised of those too stupid to eat. They may do this in order to "broaden the appeal".

I don't understand why you are so totally dismissive of this possibility.

I will admit the first time I played XCOM I did so on easy. I usually do this however, to learn how to play the game. I don't think they need to make it any damn easier though. I mean I completed the game with no deaths on my first play through and that just seemed weird.

BreakfastMan:We are talking about making easy mode easier, not the entire game easier (unless, for some reason, you count fixing bugs as making the game easier). There is a mighty big difference.

He is mentioning the possibility of the entire game being dumbed down if the publisher perceives the gamer population to be comprised of those too stupid to eat. They may do this in order to "broaden the appeal".

I don't understand why you are so totally dismissive of this possibility.

The reason I am dismissive of this possibility is that the publisher would have to be freaking blind in order to not get that most of the people who have played the game like the difficulty. Lowering the barrier of entry does not mean lowering the challenge ceiling. It might be different if the majority of people were complaining that the game is too hard, but that is obviously not the case. And since devs and pubs are not in the business of removing things from games that most customers have expressively stated they like, the notion that they would remove something that most people like is absurd.

The problem there is that people who are comfortable with the present easy mode will now be orphaned. They can either hike up the difficulty or play something too easy for them. And while I've no direct evidence of this, I'd be willing to bet that that group is substantially larger than the group of people that find easy too hard.

So yeah, just making a new difficulty mode might've been the best idea...

I could agree with that, but the thing is, I'm not seeing anyone saying that they're comfortable with easy and don't want it changed. I didn't read every comment, but the ones I did read are just complaining that there's an easy mode in the first place, which is the wrong attitude to take, I think.

Eh. It's mostly, "Wait, what the fuck?" comments, but there're a few here and there.

I don't think there are many people who play Xcom on easy in the first place, so you can't expect 'em to be the majority of comments...

BreakfastMan:The reason I am dismissive of this possibility is that the publisher would have to be freaking blind in order to not get that most of the people who have played the game like the difficulty... they would remove something that most people like is absurd.

Yes. There has never been a case where this has happened with a franchise. Ever. Not even with recent titles. No possibility of this occurring. Publishers have never made a misstep.

You know what the publishers see gamers as? Asshats who will pay 10 dollars for skins, 20 dollars for terrible expansions, 60 dollars a rehash of a title every year, 60 dollars for a game that is allowed to exist only for either a studio brand name or established IP, and those who are incapable of winning a firefight WHEN INVINCIBLE. INVINCIBLE.

They most certainly DO NOT think that gamers, as a whole, are capable of comprehending subtlety, depth, or doing anything besides following the quest marker.

The latest XCOM is incredibly shallow compared to the original, but it is WAY ahead of modern military shooter #113nx5-6. That is where we are: A game that is essentially a mod of Thief Deadly Shadows and a stripped down relaunch of a strategic squad combat game are the gems of the year.

BreakfastMan:The reason I am dismissive of this possibility is that the publisher would have to be freaking blind in order to not get that most of the people who have played the game like the difficulty... they would remove something that most people like is absurd.

Yes. There has never been a case where this has happened with a franchise. Ever. Not even with recent titles. No possibility of this occurring. Publishers have never made a misstep.

I never said publishers don't make mistakes. But to make a mistake so damn obvious and so damn stupid? That, I doubt they would do.

You know what the publishers see gamers as? Asshats who will pay 10 dollars for skins, 20 dollars for terrible expansions, 60 dollars a rehash of a title every year, 60 dollars for a game that is allowed to exist only for either a studio brand name or established IP, and those who are incapable of winning a firefight WHEN INVINCIBLE. INVINCIBLE.

This really isn't relevant to anything I have said.

They most certainly DO NOT think that gamers, as a whole, are capable of comprehending subtlety, depth, or doing anything besides following the quest marker.

The latest XCOM is incredibly shallow compared to the original, but it is WAY ahead of modern military shooter #113nx5-6. That is where we are: A game that is essentially a mod of Thief Deadly Shadows and a stripped down relaunch of a strategic squad combat game are the gems of the year.

Good job insulting people who like things you don't like. Really makes me want to pay attention to your opinions. Also, this still isn't relevant.

So what, they will make easy difficulty easier in future games? Oh, the horror, whatever shall we do.

The easy difficulty is a barrier of entry. They cannot make normal much harder, since difficulty is a scale.

A lower barrier of entry means everything will be designed for a low entry point. They will be pulling their heavier punches.

Why? Why would they possibly want to make the game easier when nearly all of the feedback has complimented them on how hard the game is? It makes no sense, from a business standpoint or a design standpoint. That is why this is a slippery slope fallacy: you are assuming that one necessarily follows the other, when that is not the case. Yes, they will keep the lower barrier of entry in mind for future titles, but do you know what else they will keep in mind? How much so many liked how difficult the game was. Games are not designed for the lowest possible entry point. They are designed for the largest base. And the largest base is the one that likes the difficulty.

2K is currently lowing the barrier of entry. When reviews themselves talk about how good it is that its difficult.

Don't ask me how it makes sense, ask 2K. They went through with it.

Now that 2K thinks gamers cant even handle easy mode, they will make it so everyone can fit into the barrier of entry. Because difficulty may sell, but easy sells even more.

At the end of the day, that's all what 2K wants. Money. Reviews don't pay the bills. Praise doesn't make greedy execs and their accountants happy.

They are willing to take any IP and try to milk it for all its worth. They have been for years.

The easy difficulty is a barrier of entry. They cannot make normal much harder, since difficulty is a scale.

A lower barrier of entry means everything will be designed for a low entry point. They will be pulling their heavier punches.

Why? Why would they possibly want to make the game easier when nearly all of the feedback has complimented them on how hard the game is? It makes no sense, from a business standpoint or a design standpoint. That is why this is a slippery slope fallacy: you are assuming that one necessarily follows the other, when that is not the case. Yes, they will keep the lower barrier of entry in mind for future titles, but do you know what else they will keep in mind? How much so many liked how difficult the game was. Games are not designed for the lowest possible entry point. They are designed for the largest base. And the largest base is the one that likes the difficulty.

2K is currently lowing the barrier of entry. When reviews themselves talk about how good it is that its difficult.

Don't ask me how it makes sense, ask 2K. They went through with it.

Now that 2K thinks gamers cant even handle easy mode, they will make it so everyone can fit into the barrier of entry. Because difficulty may sell, but easy sells even more.

At the end of the day, that's all what 2K wants. Money. Reviews don't pay the bills. Praise doesn't make greedy execs and their accountants happy.

They are willing to take any IP and try to milk it for all its worth. They have been for years.

So basically, you don't trust that anyone at 2K actually knows what they are doing and that they are all idiots. Gotcha.

HeWhoFightsBosses:To be honest the first Terror mission kept me from progressing any further in the game, mainly because of those zombie making alien things.

The trick is capture. capture. capture. especially on higher difficulties.

Sectoids make lasers come around quicker, etc.

If you don't have lasers by the first terror mission. Prepare your squad for their deaths because chrysallids are practically invincible to bullets.

Tips for terror operations:

- Assaults with double shot and the perk that makes assaults auto-shoot at anything that comes within four tiles.

- Use your sniper in a preferable high space that is clearly visible to you. More coverage, less chance of chrysallid ambush. DO NOT shimmy up a roof that you have NO idea whats up there. If you level a sniper, he can insta kill hordes of zombies with the "in the zone" perk since zombies and chrysallids never use cover.

The BEST place is a broken bridge, since no aliens can hide on an open bridge. There is only one map that uses this brand of bridge though. Its the intersection map with a broken overpass that has one side accessible to you but not chrysallids.

- Be fast. Advance for ONE action, then use the second action for overwatch. Try to stay out of close quarters and small rooms. Those are the playground of chrysallids. Never dash anywhere because chrysallids can always be around the corner.

- To counter zombies, fall back using one action (no dashing) and fire at it. Zombies are slow and easy to kill if concentrating all your fire at it.

- If you see a chrysallid / zombie combo. Fall back one action and fire at the chrysallid with all your guys. The chrysallid can cover MUCH more ground and gets a pretty much one hit kill. The zombie is always slow, but don't underestimate them because they can turn into more chrysallids if you wait around too long.

- If given the choice between XCOM soldiers and civilians, aliens will almost always go for civilians. Use this to your advantage for the more dangerous aliens or a horde of aliens.

- The BEST way to start a terror op is to find the chrysallids up front. Since only one group of Chrysallids spawn, that means you don't have to worry for the rest of the mission since all the chrysallids were killed in the beginning.

BreakfastMan:I never said publishers don't make mistakes. But to make a mistake so damn obvious and so damn stupid? That, I doubt they would do.

I just gave you a long list.

Painkiller HD was slashed and burned to the point where it may as well be a demo. Mass Effect lost the feel of there being a tangible galaxy to explore. The less that is said about Dragon Age, the better.

ASnogarD:Classic 'cheats' with aliens getting better crit chances and aiming, but normal has a seriously dumbed down AI.

I actually don't mind it that much, it's barely noticable amount anyway on Classic. The thing that DOES annoy me is the way the AI spawns - sometimes, all enemies just pile up in one small area.Just had to reload a game, because it thought "hey, let's just have ALL ENEMIES IN THE SAME FIFTEEN SQUARE METERS!" Which would've been fine, if 'all enemies' would've been like four to six Sectoids. But nope, three Sectoids, three Thin Men, and SIX Floaters... at once. Within the same round. Result was that after only a total of three rounds in that map, most of my squad was dead.

If anything needs change, then it's that the AI can throw in multiple squads of enemies when it feels like. If it would be single aliens, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but groups is just not fair and the sole reason I refuse to play Ironman currently.

Open up with a shredder rocket, then follow with grenades/rockets (depending on your load out), finish the area by wiping up remains. I've had the same thing happen to me, though it was a different grouping of aliens than you had. Still though I tend to keep a healthy supply of AOE on hand for occasions like this (and of course lots and lots of medpacks for when it goes bad). Of course this only works on round one, before they've gone for cover and spread the ranks.